With ‘The Batman’ Delayed, Warner Bros. Looking for Another DC Movie to Shoot This Year

Yesterday, Warner Bros. pushed back the release of Aquaman from October 2018 to a prime December 21, 2018 release date—the weekend that was previously eyed for Avatar 2 before James Cameron delayed that sequel for the 57th time. But as I noted in my writeup, while the December date is a smart box office move for Aquaman, Warner Bros. does not have any other DC movies scheduled for release in 2018, meaning the lag between Justice League and Aquaman will be over a year.

This is partly due to the fact that the studio had been hoping to get The Flash and/or The Batman ready in time for release in 2018, but neither is happening that quickly. The Flash lost its director Rick Famuyiwa last fall over creative differences, and with Ezra Miller due back to shoot Fantastic Beasts 2 this summer, Flash missed its window and likely can’t start production until 2018 now. As for The Batman, Ben Affleck has stressed for years that he won’t make the standalone until the script is ready, and with Affleck stepping out of the director’s chair and new director Matt Reeves tied up in post-production on War for the Planet of the Apes until June, prepping, shooting, and editing the film in time for release next summer or fall at this point would be impossible, foolish, or both.

Image via Warner Bros.

But according to Variety reporter Justin Kroll, Warner Bros. is considering pushing a different DC film into production in 2017. He notes that with The Batman now delayed, the studio would like to get a different DC property ready for release in 2018. The ones they’re currently considering are the female-centric Gotham City Sirens, Green Lantern Corps, Justice League Dark, The Flash, and Suicide Squad 2. However, Kroll also notes that if the scripts aren’t ready to go, “the studio is content just shooting Aquaman this year” until those other films are ready.

So where do these projects stand right now and which is most likely to shoot this year? Let’s break it down.

Gotham City Sirens originated with Margot Robbie, who came up with the idea to do a female ensemble pic anchored by her Harley Quinn character after shooting Suicide Squad. Her Squad director David Ayer is onboard to direct this one, but Robbie’s dance card is pretty full-up so it’s unclear if that one could be ready in time.

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